TARDIS Bookstore: Halloween
by StormWolf10
Summary: AU. It's time for a Halloween get-together at the TARDIS Bookstore, but will things go as smoothly as they hope?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Chapter one of a brand new mini-fic! More TARDIS Bookstore for you! Ok, the timeline's a little screwed up. It's at least 2012 for this story. But it's an AU, it doesn't matter! Read and review, guys. Read and review.**

Donna Noble was sulking. Not that she'd care to admit it. But she was. It was Halloween, and the Doctor had insisted on decorating the shop. They did it every year, of course, but this year he seemed to have gone overboard. The small window at the front of the shop was boasting an overflowing display of ET stuffed toys, fake blood stickers and Star Trek graphic novels. Decorations were strung through the shop, little lines of grinning pumpkins cut out on neon orange paper and hung from string, silhouettes of witches and black cats. That wasn't what Donna was sulking about. The thing Donna was sulking about was that she had been forced to work that evening, on a Friday of all nights, because it was Halloween. The Doctor was holding a mini-party thing for all their regular customers (although only the sci-fi geeks were likely to turn up), and he'd decided they'd do a special offer on some of their stock. Everyone was working that night; the Doctor, Rose, Martha, Mickey, Jack and Donna. No one else seemed that bothered about having to work, relieved they wouldn't be interrupted every few minutes by a knock on the door and the inevitable chorus of 'Trick or Treat!'. Mickey and Martha were snogging in the office, the Doctor and Rose were giggling to each other in the corner as they finished decorating the shop, and Jack was throwing Donna smutty looks. The fact she'd had to give up her Friday night when she and Jack could be enjoying a meal together was annoying enough, but matters had been made worse when the Doctor had announced they had to dress up.

"Still don't know why you're making me do this." Donna groused suddenly, causing the Doctor and Rose to break out of their conversation to look at her.

"Oh, but the costume suits you so well Donna!" the Doctor told her with a smirk.

Donna glowered. Having been forced to work on Halloween and told to dress up, she'd dressed as a witch; she'd had the costume left over from a Halloween party the year before and hadn't seen the sense of splashing out on another costume.

"Leave her alone, Doctor!" Rose laughed quietly, tugging on the Doctor's arm as he grinned at her.

Donna rolled her eyes as they turned back to unpacking some decorations Donna had ordered over the internet. Ever since the Doctor and Rose had begun dating six weeks ago, they'd been acting like teenagers, giggling and hand-holding and glancing at each other when they thought no one was looking. They always had to be touching, too, like they were afraid if they weren't touching the other would just… Disappear. And then Donna was startled out of her thoughts by a yell.

"Bloody hell, Donna!" the Doctor hollered, brow furrowed as he breathed heavily, glaring at the offending object. "Why did you order _that_?!"

"You wanted decorations for the shop!" Donna responded, hurrying out from behind the counter as she made her way over to him and Rose.

Jack was following too, and he burst out laughing when he saw what had caused the Doctor to yell.

"Donna," Jack told his girlfriend, chuckling, "think about it. What one sci-fi film does the Doctor have a poster of but never watches the DVD?"

Donna thought hard for a few moments, before her eyes widened.

"What's going on?" Martha asked, dragging Mickey behind her as she hurried from the office.

"Donna bought _that_ for the shop," Rose nodded at the large cardboard cut out the Doctor was still glaring at. "But I don't think the Doctor likes it."

"Like it?" the Doctor spluttered suddenly, eyes never leaving the cardboard cut out. "I _hate_ it!"

"What even _is_ it?" Mickey asked, perplexed.

"It's one of those creatures from that 1963 film, 'Skaro'." Jack explained, gesturing behind him at the poster. "The Doctor hates them."

"You do?" Rose asked, surprised, staring at her boyfriend.

The Doctor nodded.

"Scared the hell out of me as a kid." He told her. "My older brother used to make me watch the film with me because he thought it would be funny to scare me."

Rose frowned, returning her gaze to the cardboard cut out. The creature looked like a large, metal pepper pot, a tarnished metal casing and single eye on a front-facing eyestalk. She could see that, as a young child, it would be intimidating. The Doctor was still staring the piece of cardboard down.

"Want me to put it in the storage room, boss?" Mickey suggested after a few moments.

The Doctor nodded, and Mickey quickly grabbed it and dragged it from the room.

**~StormWolf10~**

"All I'm saying is, your costume's not exactly sci-fi." Jack told Mickey for the umpteenth time.

"Oi!" Mickey complained, glancing down at his costume. "Of course it's sci-fi!"

"Who're you even meant to be, anyway?" Donna asked with a frown. She was the only one who hadn't picked a sci-fi character to dress up as.

"Dave Lister." Mickey replied with a grin.

Donna blinked. Mickey's smile faltered slightly.

"You know, Lister? Red Dwarf?" Mickey prompted.

Donna just stared. Mickey huffed.

"'S still better than Jack's costume." He muttered bitterly.

In truth, he knew it wasn't true. Jack had gone all-out, showing off as usual; he'd dressed as Wolverine, the Hugh Jackman Wolverine, which essentially gave him an excuse to walk around topless. Not that Donna was complaining.

"Jack's not even wearing a costume!" the Doctor hollered suddenly from the office.

"Am too!" Jack yelled back.

"You're wearing jeans!" the Doctor replied, head poking around the door. "You _always_ wear jeans!"

"Alright then, let's see _your_ costume then!" Jack complained.

The Doctor and Rose hadn't even gotten changed into their costumes yet, despite the others changing into their costumes over an hour ago.

"Ok," the Doctor announced somewhat haughtily, "I'll go get changed."

The Doctor disappeared from sight, and everyone rounded on Rose.

"What?" she asked, perplexed.

"What's his costume?" Donna asked immediately.

"I dunno," Rose shrugged, "he hasn't showed me it. Wouldn't even give me a hint."

Martha blinked.

"So you're not doing some cheesy matching costume thing then?" she asked.

Rose wrinkled her nose and shook her head.

"Nope." Rose replied. "Wanted it to be a surprise, apparently."

Martha shook her head, tugging uncomfortably at the silver-blonde wig she was wearing. Mickey had talked her into dressing up as Storm from X-Men, and although she actually didn't mind all the leather, the wig was beginning to itch.

"You'd better go get changed soon as well," Martha told Rose pointedly, "everyone will be arriving soon."

Rose wrinkled her nose up at that.

"I suppose you're right," she sighed, "I'll nip up to change once the Doctor's done."

Donna raised an eyebrow at that. Everyone knew that Rose had been sharing the Doctor's flat on and off for the past six weeks, sometimes staying for the night and sometimes going home. They knew that because the amount of times she was wearing one of the Doctor's sci-fi or comic book t-shirts was increasing, and the Doctor was looking increasingly smug that she was wearing them.

"Well?" a voice asked from the doorway of the office.

The group turned to look at the Doctor, who was leaning casually against the doorframe, a cocky smirk on his face and a plastic blaster in his right hand. He was dressed in a pair of tight-fitting black trousers with a long-sleeved, v-neck cream top and a black waistcoat. On his feet, instead of his usual converse, were a pair of black boots. His usually styled, messy hair was combed, and he had a fake gun pouch attached to his belt.

"You're Han Solo!" Jack laughed, grinning.

The Doctor broke out of his deliberate, cocky pose, flashing them an excited grin instead.

"Yep!" he announced happily, glancing down at his costume. "It's not an exact replica of Harrison Ford's costume, but it's the best I could do."

"It's very… You." Rose told him with a grin.

The Doctor grinned back, and it took a few moments for everyone else to realise that the Doctor and Rose had somehow lost themselves in each other's eyes again.

"Anyway," Donna announced loudly, startling the Doctor and Rose out of their little world, "you need to go get changed, Rose."

**~StormWolf10~**

Rose took a deep breath, trying to steel herself. Her costume had been chosen more with the Doctor in mind than herself and, truth be told, she felt a bit foolish. She'd been getting more and more interested in sci-fi movies and shows since beginning to work at the TARDIS Bookstore, and had watched stuff like The X-Files and Star Wars and Red Dwarf when she was growing up. She was fond of the X-Men films too, but it had only been after she and the Doctor had grown closer- and, consequently, begun dating- that Rose had really delved into it. She'd started watching Star Trek and Back to the Future, and had picked her costume on a whim after watching the 2009 Star Trek film a few weeks previously when she'd stayed at the Doctor's. The Doctor didn't even know she'd gotten the costume, and it was only by chance it was delivered so quickly. With another deep breath, Rose stepped out of the office. The Doctor was chatting away with the others, all of them laughing and joking, not realising Rose was back. But then Donna spotted Rose, and gave a small nod to the Doctor, encouraging him to turn around.

"Rose!" he crowed, a grin on his face before he even turned to face her. "What took you so-"

He trailed off, gaping at her.

"'S it alright?" Rose asked nervously, tugging at the hem of the short blue dress.

The Doctor just nodded, lost for words, and Jack smirked.

"Oh, Rose Tyler, only _you_ could make the Doctor speechless dressing up as a Starfleet Science officer!" Jack laughed.

"When… When did you get that?" the Doctor finally managed, wide-eyed.

"Not long after we started going out. You made me watch Star Trek with you, and I was at a loss for a costume. I thought the costume looked alright, and I managed to find a place that sold it on the internet, so I thought I might as well." Rose shrugged, still nervous as she bit her lip.

"But… That's an exact replica of the costume!" the Doctor told her, wide-eyed. "Even the uniform pin!"

Rose just nodded, smiling. Her hands were still fiddling with the hem of the blue tunic, but she was looking happier now, more relaxed now she knew the Doctor liked her costume.

"Does this mean we're ready to open now?" Martha asked distractedly. "Because I think there are people queuing at the door."

The Doctor nodded, eyes never leaving Rose. Jack and Mickey smirked and Donna rolled her eyes.

"This is gonna be a long night." Donna muttered as she reached for her witch's hat.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So. I spent most of last night trying to Photoshop 10's head onto Han Solo's body. It didn't work. But never mind that, here's the second half of the story!**

An hour later, the shop was beginning to fill with people. Mickey and Jack had moved the computers onto the floor beneath the desks so that the food could be put out there, and everything seemed to be going well. As expected, only the sci-fi fans had turned up, although there were a few of the students from the nearby University who had obviously been interested. Rose, Martha and Donna had taken shelter behind the counter as Jack, Mickey and the Doctor interacted with the people in the shop, discussing the latest Star Trek graphic novel, or the new X-Men film, or a new video game that was being released. There were a handful of women there, a few looking like they'd been dragged along by their boyfriends, who had clustered around the food table discussing rom-coms and makeup instead, and they were all looking rather awkward.

"I feel like I should join in," Martha told Donna and Rose quietly, "but I wouldn't have a clue what to say to them!"

Donna snorted in agreement.

"If I joined in, I'd probably get all the different Star Trek shows muddled up and just make an idiot of myself." The ginger woman agreed.

"How long did the Doctor say this would last, anyway?" Rose asked, glancing at the clock as she spoke.

"Oh, god knows." Donna sighed, slumping on her stool. "The skinny idiot didn't give a finishing time, I don't think."

The three women went back to watching their respective partners chat and laugh about sci-fi comics and films. A few moments later, it was with great surprise when Donna tore her gaze away from Jack to find the women who'd been stood near the food table were now stood by the counter.

"Oh. Hello." Donna told them, perplexed.

Her words startled Martha and Rose into looking too, and they smiled politely.

"Hi." one of the women replied. She was a tall, slim brunette, who looked a little awkward in a bookstore specialising in sci-fi, travel, astrology and astronomy. "You're new here, right?"

Rose blinked, and it took a few moments for her to realise the woman was talking to her.

"Oh. Yeah. Well, sort of." Rose responded, wrinkling her nose. "I've worked here a few months now."

The woman nodded, as did her friends. Then, a short woman with black hair piped up.

"You're the one dating the owner of this place, yeah?"

Again, Rose nodded, blushing slightly.

"Well," the brunette continued "we don't really come here much, as you can tell. Only really come for things like the New Year's parties and stuff with our other halves. But… We just wanted to say… And you can stop us if you think it's out of order, but… Well, I suppose we wanted to say… Well done."

"Well done?" Rose echoed, brow furrowing.

A quick glance at Martha and Donna told her that neither of them quite understood either.

"Yeah," a blonde piped up with a small smile, "like Theresa said," the woman nodded at the brunette, "we don't really come here much, but we've been enough times that we thought we knew the Doctor. Turns out we were wrong. He seems… Happy, tonight."

Noticing Rose's expression, the woman hastened to continue.

"Not that he didn't usually look happy," she continued quickly, "but if you compare how he looks tonight to how he usually looked at these sorts of things, well… Today, you can tell that it's genuine. He always seemed happy, but now, seeing him like this, makes all the previous times look… forced. Strained."

"Anyway," Theresa piped up quickly "like I said, we don't mean to offend in any way. We just wanted to… To congratulate you. On your new relationship and, well, for making the Doctor so much happier. He must really love you."

And then, before Rose could form a response, the women were making their way across the bookshop to their other halves.

"It's true, you know." Donna told Rose casually from her seat.

Blinking, Rose turned to look at her friend.

"Ever since you joined the team," Donna continued calmly, "he's become more open, more cheerful. Like Theresa and her friends said, he was always happy and smiling, but that just seems a shadow of the man he is now."

"But that wasn't… I didn't do that." Rose shook her head, disbelieving.

Martha groaned as Donna rolled her eyes.

"We didn't lock you in that bloody storage room for nothing, Rose!" Martha grumbled. "It was to prove to you two that you were meant for each other! You make each other better! The Doctor… He can be blind when he wants to, only sees what he wants to see. Before you came along, he was so wrapped up in his own guilt that he didn't notice that he had us, he had a family. And then you came stumbling through the door, fresh out of a failed relationship, and despite that, you made him smile, you made him _laugh_! We've all known him for ages, Mickey and Donna and Jack and I, and we all tried so hard to make him see that he had us. But then you made him see you, and that he wasn't alone, and you made it look effortless! So don't you dare tell me you haven't changed him, Rose Tyler. You know about his past better than I do, so you know what he's gone through. And you can see that he's over there, laughing and joking and chatting with Jack." Martha took a deep breath, and sounded a little wistful as she concluded. "And I've never seen him so happy."

"I… I…" Rose tried again, still gaping and lost for words.

She looked to Donna for help, unsure whether to believe what she'd just been told. But Donna nodded, smiling softly, and that was all Rose needed. As she looked across the room to the Doctor, he glanced over at her. And grinned.

**~StormWolf10~**

"Next time, try not to let it drag on so much, yeah, boss?" Mickey asked the Doctor as he helped tidy away the remains of the food.

It was quarter to midnight, and they were only just locking up the bookstore as the party guests left, several of them clutching new editions of graphic novels and figures.

"Yeah, maybe we should have finished an hour or so earlier." the Doctor agreed with a sigh.

"You think?!" Donna grumbled.

Now tired and grumpy, Donna looked quite terrifying in her witch costume, the rim of the black pointed hat flopping over one eye and she'd just washed her makeup off in the toilet.

"Geez, who dropped a house on _your_ sister, sweetheart?" Jack asked with a frown, before ducking as Donna tried to slap him.

Rose yawned as she held a black rubbish bag open for the Doctor to throw some paper plates into.

"Why don't we finish clearing this up tomorrow, yeah?" the Doctor suggested, eyes never leaving Rose.

"Oh no you don't, mister!" Donna complained. "I know what you'll do! You and Rose will laze around in bed half the morning and I'll be left to clear this up, take the decorations down and open up the shop!"

"That won't happen, Donna." Rose assured her friend quickly. "We'll be down to help you clear up."

"Have you moved in here?" Martha asked Rose, frowning.

Rose blushed, shrugged and bit her lip, while the Doctor suddenly became interested in clearing up every little crumb despite just saying they'd clear up in the morning.

"Well, she has sort of." The Doctor admitted after a while, trying- and failing- to come across as indifferent.

"_Sort of_?" Donna echoed with a frown. "_Sort of_?!"

"Well, sometimes I stay here, an' sometimes I go home." Rose shrugged, cheeks still flushed with colour.

Donna opened her mouth to protest, but the Doctor shook his head.

"In case you'd forgotten, Donna, both Rose and I have pasts. We can't rush into things." He told her calmly.

Donna's mouth snapped shut and she nodded. She then flinched when Jack threw her coat at her and picked up their bags with their normal clothes in.

"We're going to get going now," Jack told the Doctor, "but I'll come by tomorrow if you want, help take the decorations down, and stuff."

The Doctor nodded, noting that Martha and Mickey were gathering their things together as well.

"That'll be great," the Doctor told them, "I'll see you four tomorrow?"

A few more words were exchanged, goodbyes and promises to arrive early to help clear up- with the exception of Martha, who was shadowing a doctor that morning at the nearby hospital. When the Doctor finally locked up the shop and turned around, he realised he was alone. Figuring Rose had already gone up to the flat, he made his way up himself. Sure enough, as he stepped into the flat and shut the door, Rose emerged from the bedroom in a pair of his pyjama bottoms and a vest top of hers that she'd brought to sleep in.

"Ready for bed?" the Doctor asked with a smirk.

Rose shrugged.

"Depends," she replied, "what did you have in mind?"

"We-ell…" the Doctor replied, pretending to think.

The next morning, Donna found them asleep on the sofa with the DVD menu of Paranormal Activity still on the TV screen.


End file.
